SNOW HILL — Like many businesses do, Two Cousins Pizza & Grill had a soft opening Dec. 8 at a busy intersection in Snow Hill. The restaurant’s workers were expecting a crowd, but not nearly as big as they got.

As many as 200 tables were served that first afternoon and evening with a wait as long as 45 minutes for some of them.

Two Cousins proprietor Gianni Vitale of Kinston has owned other Italian restaurants, including Bellini’s, before buying the former Ribeye’s building.

His cousin, Gerry Vitale, is his business mentor and works at the restaurant on his own schedule. A native of Sicily, Italy, he grew up in New Jersey, staying there about 35 years.

“Our family were bakers in Sicily,” he said.

Gerry’s been working at or owning Italian restaurants since his mid-teens.

“In 1971, I came back from the Army and opened my first business in Brooklyn — Mr. Pizza,” he said.

When Gerry retired from the restaurant business, he went back to his homeland in 2002. He married and came back to the states, eventually moving to Kinston where he now lives with his cousin while he waits for his wife to enter the U.S.

Gianni worked for Gerry at Roberto’s Pizza & Restaurant in 1988 for about two years, when his older cousin sold it to him. Since then, Gianni has managed or owned a number of Italian restaurants in New Jersey and North Carolina, including one in Greenville, which he later sold.

Gianni drove around the area and saw the “For sale” sign in front of the Ribeye’s.

“(Gianni) was looking around for a location,” Gerry said, “and he fell in love with this location. When he showed me it, he said it was No. 1 in location. He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said it was A-1.”

The restaurant’s chef is Joseph “Joe” Napoletana, who worked for Gerry in New Jersey.

The mad rush to try out the new restaurant quieted down within a few days and business is now steady. However, the initial rush required calling for a special order for desserts and dinner entrée ingredients.

The restaurant features New York style pizza with top-quality flour, ground mozzarella and Alta-Cucina tomato sauce. The pies are baked in a gas-fired brick oven, Gerry said.

Two Cousins, 1012 Kingold Blvd, Snow Hill, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. For information and ordering, call 252-747-4777 or fax orders to 252-747-4780, or visit 2cousinspizza.com.

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The BP gas station at 3701 W. Vernon Ave., near Ruby Tuesday, is stripped of its products, including the ice cream fountain.

Armistead Mauck, vice president and co-owner of Cherry Energy, which owns the store, said the previous operator had turned what was formerly a Dairy Queen into a Yummies and had planned to bring in hot food, as well.

However, the former owner was called back out of state.

“Their ice cream business did fine,” Mauck said. “They just never got the hot food going.”

The store includes a fully-operational kitchen with a cook-top, double oven and expanded hood system, he said.

Mauck said he is in the process of making repairs to the store so it will be ready for a new operator.

“What we’re looking for is a ready-serve operator,” he said.

The store is “broom clean,” but Mauck said he’s preparing the space so an operator can come in with his or her own ideas.

The gas station remains open daily around the clock with pay-at-the-pump service.

Mauck said he will be marketing the location as a restaurant.

“Of course, it’s got an opportunity for ice cream,” he said.

As a bonus, the store contains a shower for freshening up, and its location on the highway puts it in a high-traffic area.

Mauck said he plans to market the BP brand location — one of 18 Cherry Energy owns and one of eight in Lenoir County — in January and hopes to have an operator in by mid- to late-January. He said he is looking for “a qualified food operator with a track record.”

“It will be a really unique opportunity for somebody,” he said.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.

Breakout box

Do you have a new retail business or one that’s undergone a significant change? The Free Press would like to hear about it. Contact Margaret Fisher at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.